Everyone on the podium at the German GP felt like a winner on Sunday, just as the summer break is just beginning in the MotoGP World Championship. Pecco Bagnaia, with his fourth consecutive victory, effusively celebrated with the stands a victory that puts him as the new leader of the championship after the fall of his great rival, Jorge Martín, two laps from the end. The pressure from the defending champion was once again too much for the Spaniard from Pramac, who lost the front end of his Ducati when he was leading by a certain margin in the race, just as he had already done in Jerez. The setback from the Madrid rider allowed Marc Márquez to round off a steep comeback to second position after starting in thirteenth place, with his brother Álex completing the podium.
Since 1997 in Imola, when the Aokis did it, the championship has not seen a podium between brothers, a milestone that the two Márquez celebrated as if it were a victory. “I promise you that I would trade the victory for this on the podium with my brother, it’s fantastic,” said the 93 in the parc fermé. “Come on!” shouted the youngest of the family while the modest Gresini team was already uncorking the prosecco. For Alex, his third place was the best way to celebrate his renewal for another two seasons with the squad and his best result of the season, which had not started in the best way.
Although Bagnaia once again showed off his phenomenal management of the strategy, avoiding pushing the tyres and putting just the right amount of pressure on his strongest rival for the title, the main protagonists of the day were the Spanish riders. Martín for his unjustified fall after leading the race and the Márquez for putting on a show throughout the 30 laps of the small and twisty Sachsenring circuit. Álex, who started fifth, did not back down from any of his rivals, while Marc grew when another stroke of bad luck seemed to cut short his excellent comeback.
With eight laps to go, a reborn Franco Morbidelli went wide at the first corner and the 93 took advantage to put his bike in front of him to move into fourth. The Italian, however, closed his path without looking to the side and hit the Catalan full on, sending him flying into the air. Without quite knowing how, Marc saved himself from the fall and remained on the lookout despite losing the windshield of his bike and some other aerodynamic elements. The impact was so significant that his airbag even opened, a less than ideal situation as he arrived at the event with severe pain in his ribcage after his tremendous crash in Friday’s practice sessions.
“We had a lot of problems, but we never gave up. That contact with Morbidelli put me in attack mode,” said Márquez, who had been injected before the race and seemed indifferent to the damage in the midst of an adrenaline rush. Although he lost his unbeatable status on the track, the feeling he was left with after his magnificent result was that of a resounding victory.
Bagnaia, a first-time winner on the home turf of the eight-time world champion, has made himself the rider with the most victories in Ducati history. With 24, he surpasses the legendary Casey Stoner and cements his unique status within the mythology of the Borgo Panigale brand. And all this while linking one ring with another, as this summer he will take advantage of his holidays to marry his partner, fashion entrepreneur Domizia Castagnini.
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